Good, Cheap 12 string

[TJE"]

I realize this is a bit of a contradiction in terms, but is there such a thing?

I am currently looking at used Yamaha apx700 12 priced at £300 or about $400.

I kind of trust Yahama's reputation for build quality, but are there other reliable cheap 12 string brands out there?

[AZLiberty]

My favorite "cheap" 12-string is whatever Breedlove's current import line is.

Looks like it's the pursuit:

https://www.musiciansfriend.com/guit...e%2012&index=3

These tend to go for around $300 on Craigslist. Don't know what your equivalent would be in the UK

[Bear Davis]

Paid 579 for an x series martin new at GC so I assume you can probably get a used one in the 400 dollar range.

Here is a quick clip I recorded on my phone the other night.

[AndrewG]

Guild F2512E. You get a lot of guitar, literally, for your money:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=640GBM5JLfY&t=484s
£400+/-

[Tony Burns]

maybe not as cheap as the others - but i feel it is a better guitar
for the money you pay -answer pretty much any larrivee 12 string,
saw a l series for about 600 used- ( thou no longer available )
but i have seen others like it for about the same price -

[rstaight]

I was on Reverb just to be looking and noticed Takamine GJ72CE 12 string for $459. There were other brands one of which was Epiphone for less than $300.

I don't buy 6 strings on line let alone a 12. But Takamine I own and could not be happier.

[Rosewood99]

In my opinion there isn't such a thing. For some reason, cheap 12 strings never sound good as opposed to cheap 6 strings. I think you have to spend at least $1,000 or go used.

[Tenzin]

I bought a Recording King that I'm very happy with.

[vintage40s]

Originally Posted by Bear Davis

Paid 579 for an x series martin new at GC... Here is a quick clip I recorded on my phone the other night...

Sounds great. Is the audio from the 'phone's mic?

[devellis]

I don't know if they're still available but I remember being mightily impressed with a Seagull 12-string several years back. It was a lot of guitar for the money.

[CASD57]

I've got a Rogue 12 string on back order, that was so cheap I couldn't resist..$79 I figured if anything it would make good firewood. LOL

[CASD57]

Originally Posted by AZLiberty

My favorite "cheap" 12-string is whatever Breedlove's current import line is.

Looks like it's the pursuit:

https://www.musiciansfriend.com/guit...e%2012&index=3

These tend to go for around $300 on Craigslist. Don't know what your equivalent would be in the UK

I'll add one to this..I played an all Myrtle wood pursuit 12 stringer that was fantastic... that was why I decided I wanted a 12 stringer but nothing expensive, since it's use would be limited.

[zombywoof]

Harmony H1270, if you can find one with a good neck.

[phavriluk]

I had a Seagull Walnut 12 that was a sweetie. I'm very much a student, and my instructor, a career working musician who also teaches, used the Seagull for a performance, said it had the nicest 12-string neck he'd ever played, including the Taylor 12-string he'd had. Strong praise from a discerning critic.

My opinion: the Godin guitars have the high-value corner.

[FrankHudson]

Good, cheap, 12-string. One's tempted to say choose two out of three.

But of course I'm a person who likes relatively inexpensive guitars in general, and I still play my $70 new in the '7's all-laminated Cortez 12-string sometimes (though I wouldn't suggest that to anyone else).

My main 12-string is a jumbo bodied Guild JF30-12 from the Westerly years. It works well for many things, and it can respond nicely to lowered tunings. But I also have a Seagull S12, which has the classic Godin/Seagull mix of laminated Wild Cherry and a solid cedar top.

Now I play 12-string less than 10% of the time when I play acoustic. I tell myself that having two real 12-strings (three if you count the Cortez) is nutty, but the Guild and the Seagull are really two different instruments: They sound different, respond differently to different styles of playing. The Seagull does things the Guild doesn't and vice versa.

So count me in the "try the Godin/Seagull 12-strings" camp.